Washington – A band of Senate Republican holdouts reached agreement Thursday with the White House on changes in the Patriot Act designed to clear the way for passage of anti-terrorism legislation stalled in a dispute over civil liberties.
Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., said the changes, quickly endorsed by at least two Democrats, would better “protect civil liberties even as we give law enforcement important tools to conduct terrorism investigations.” The White House embraced the deal even before Sununu and a few other senators outlined it.
Presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said the agreement would “continue to build upon the civil liberties protections that are in place but do so in a way that doesn’t compromise our national security priorities.”
The compromise focused on three areas:
Reaction from Democrats was divided.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, second-ranking in the Democratic leadership, appeared at the GOP news conference. He said the compromise included “significant progress” toward protecting basic liberties and that he planned to support it.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., also announced her support. “I will vote for this bill. It is a substantial improvement,” she said in a statement.
The party’s leader, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, said in a statement that the agreement among Republicans “appears to be a step in the right direction.”
Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., threatened a filibuster.
